Don’t bother making prams for Nigel
On Monday, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its list of the names given to new babies in England and Wales during 2020.
We discovered that Ivy and Rosie made it into the top 10, while Grace and Freya were edged out. Similarly, the name given by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to their son, Archie, shoved Charlie into 12th place.
The obsession with Olivia and Oliver continues, as they top the lists for the fifth and eighth consecutive years respectively.
Yawn, I was called Oliver before it was cool. https://t.co/uoeU3BKNL6
— Olly Potts (@OllyPottsArts) October 18, 2021
Some names, however, have really fallen out of favour, and consumer journalist Harry Wallop posted a thread about it, which revealed the perhaps inevitable fate of ‘Nigel’.
Nigel is officially extinct as a baby name.@ONS has released full 2020 baby names data. There were 189 boys called Kylo, 142 called Kacper, 86 called Aadam, 64 called Cai. Not a single* Nigel
— Harry Wallop (@hwallop) October 18, 2021
*It is possible there were 2 Nigels. ONS only records a name if 3 or more children are called that name, for data protection purposes.
— Harry Wallop (@hwallop) October 18, 2021
Tweeters were pretty clear on where to lay the blame for the name’s technical extinction.
1.
I wonder whether any name has ever been quite so ruined by a single holder of it. Even Nero has a chain of coffee shops.
(No Burton Albion jokes please.) https://t.co/hMqJYK03Jv— James OhBrien (@mrjamesob) October 18, 2021
2.
Farage. Doing for Nigel what he has done for this nation's global reputation. https://t.co/cO4gNlOjxM
— Otto English (@Otto_English) October 18, 2021
3.
There are fewer babies called Nigel in the country than managers called Nigel in the League One relegation zone. https://t.co/SOL4lmTBoV
— Richard Jolly (@RichJolly) October 18, 2021
4.
What Hitler did to Adolf, Farage now does to Nigel. https://t.co/Op2LqhcQQC
— Scary Whitta (@garywhitta) October 18, 2021
5.
The true legacy of UKIP https://t.co/j56R0EciqL
— Jon Ingold (@joningold) October 18, 2021
6.
an actual brexit bonus. https://t.co/BMhxYk90hr
— Enilorac (@BexBitchley) October 18, 2021
7.
No babies named "Nigel" were recorded in England or Wales last year, which is amazing because:
1. Americans still assume every male English person is named Nigel and will continue to assume this for decades to come
2. There were 79 babies named Nigel in the U.S. in 2020! https://t.co/zqsHaAYfsW— Nick Turner (@NewsyNick) October 18, 2021
8.
Just wondering why this has happened. Is there anyone well-known called 'Nigel' who most people think is an absolute tosser? https://t.co/lrQWQGoxfy
— Richard Bentall #FBPE #FBPA Woke and proud! (@RichardBentall) October 18, 2021
9.
The plans for Nigel have both been made, and carried out https://t.co/t6Tsd0nczo
— David Hood (@Thoughtfulnz) October 18, 2021
Another famous face may be responsible for the near extinction of their own name.
Two more boy's names in grave peril: Keith & Piers. Five boys called Keith, just four called Piers.
Less popular than Titas (6), Teddie-James (6), Nectarie (6), Lincoln-James (6), Hershy 6), Grayson-Lee (6), Bode (6), Bodi (6), and London (8)
— Harry Wallop (@hwallop) October 18, 2021
To put that in context …
15 boys were called Lucifer last year.
Lucifer is now a more popular boy's name than Barry (8), Trevor (8), Stuart (7), Gordon (7), Keith (5), Piers (4) and Nigel (0)— Harry Wallop (@hwallop) October 18, 2021
READ MORE
We suspect George Osborne may have edited this Evening Standard article on baby names
Source ONS H/T Harry Wallop Image Screengrab, joffi on Pixabay
